Method of delustering fabric and product thereof



Dec. 26, 1933. H. PLATT 1,940,730

METHOD OF DELUSTERING FABRIC AND PRODUCT THEREOF Filed April 12, 1929 ung n a E l iiiiiii '7 J i immmm mn INVENTQR HERBERT PLATT ATTORNEY UNITED STATES METHOD OF DELUSTERING FABRIC AND PRODUCT THEREOF Herbert Platt, Cumberland, Md., assignor to Gelanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application April 12, 1929.

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the subduing of the luster of fabrics containing yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose, andxrelates more particularly to the treatment of circular knit fabric containing such yarn to subdue the luster thereof.

An object of my invention is to subject fabric, and particularly knit fabric, to a treatment which pauses reduction of the luster thereof, wherein the fabric is not caused to become distorted. Other objects of my invention will appear from the following detailed description.

Often it is desirable to subdue the normally high luster on fabrics containing yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose. However, when a knit fabric, such as a circular knit or a warp knit In accordance with my invention, I prepare a fabric, and particularly a knit fabric, of subdued luster and containing yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose that is substantially free of wrinkles, distortions, or rowiness, by treating the same with any suitable delustering agent while it is suspended vertically in the form of loops.

While the greatest advantages of my invention accrue from the treatment of circular knitted or warp knitted fabric, it is of general application and may also be applied to woven fabrics.

The yarns employed in the fabric to be treated in accordance with my invention may be made of any suitable organic derivative of cellulose such as organic esters of cellulose and cellulose ethers. Examples of organic esters of cellulose are cellulose acetate, cellulose formate, cellulose propionate and cellulose butyrate while examples of cellulose ethers are ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose. The fabric need not consist wholly of yarns of these organic derivatives of cellulose but may also contain yarns of other fibers such as silk, cotton, reconstituted cellulose, wool, etc.

Any suitable delustering agent may be employed in my process. Examples of such delustering agents are wet steam, water at or near the boiling point, say from 80 to 100 C. or hot Serial No. 354,675

aqueous solutions containing soaps or other salts that promote the delustering action. The material may be delustered by the precipitation therein of a white insoluble salt such as barium sulphate or zinc sulphide. This is done by treating the same with a solution of an alkali earth salt, such as barium chloride, or a zinc salt such as zinc chloride, which solution either contains or acts as a swelling agent for the yarn, and then precipitating the metal as an insoluble salt. Thus the barium salt may be precipitated in the form of a sulphate by the addition of sulfuric acid, while the zinc may be precipitated in the form of the sulphide by the addition of sodium sulphide. The solution of the salt itself may be a swelling agent, such as barium sulphocyanate, or a foreign swelling agent, such as acetic acid, may be added thereto.

During the delustering treatment, the fabric is suspended in the delustering agent in such a manner that preferably substantially all of the-' same is in a vertical position with respect to the f courses or wales. For a piece of fabric of standard length, this position is most conveniently obtained by hanging the fabric loosely in loops.

The delustering bath may also contain a dye for the fabric, in which case the fabric is delustered and dyed simultaneously. 'If desired, the fabric may be dyed either before or after the delustering treatment, but I prefer to do the same after such treatment, in which case no special precautions are necessary in the dyeing to avoid distortions or wrinkles.

By my process, knitted fabrics containing yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose having subdued luster, but free of distortions or wrinkles, may be produced.

For further understanding of my invention,

reference is had to the accompanying drawing wherein one form of apparatus is shown for carrying out my invention. On the drawing,

Figure 1 shows a detail view of a rod that may be employed for suspending loops of fabric.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly broken away of a tank containing a delustering bath, and

Figure 3 is a cross section at right angles to Figure 2.

The tank 1 is any suitable tank which is filled with a bath 2 that acts as a delustering agent. This tank may be in the form of an ordinary dyeing bark. To suspend the fabric, rods or supports are provided. Such rods or supports may be in the form of a bent rod, wherein the arms 3 rest on the sides of the tank, and the depressed horizontal portion 4 act as support for the loops of fabric. This portion 4 preferably has thereon a roll 5 of felt or other soft material, upon which the loops of fabric 6 are supported vertically in the delustering bath 2.

As one mode of operation, the tank 1 is filled with an aqueous soap solution containing from 0.5 to 2 grams of soap per litre. This bath is maintained at a temperature of '90 to 98 C. The roll of felt 5 is preferably wetted and is then inserted with the loops of circular knit fabric 6 and the whole is then placed withinthe bath 2 so that the loops 6 are completely submerged. The fabric is kept in this bath for a suitable period say from 10 to 30 minutes, preferably 15 minutes, and during this time the line of contact between the loops of fabric and the felt roll 5 is changed a few times, say three times, so that the fabric is not supported in the same place during the whole of the treatment, whereby uniform delustering is obtained. The fabric is then scoured, bleached and dyed on the winch.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely as an illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of delustering knit fabric containing yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose comprising subjecting the fabric while it is hanging loosely in loops to the action of a delustering agent.

taining yarns of cellulose acetate coinprisinghanging loosely in loops such fabric vertically-inf a delustering bath in such a. manner "that the loops are completely submerged in such delustering bath.

5. The method of delustering knit fabric containing yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose comprising hanging loosely in loops such fabric vertically in a delustering bath in such a manner that the loops are completely submerged in such delustering bath and changing the points of support of said loops during the delustering treatment, whereby a delustered knit fabric free of distortions is obtained.

6. The method of delustering knit fabric containing yarns of cellulose acetate comprising hanging loosely in loops such fabric vertically in a delustering bath in such a manner that the loops are completely submerged in such delustering bath and changing the points of support of said loops during the delustering treatment, whereby a delustered knit fabric free of distortions is obtained.

'7. The method of delustering knit fabric containing yarns of organic derivatives of cellulose 100 comprising hanging loosely in loops such fabric vertically in a delustering bath comprising a hot aqueous solution in such a manner that the loops are completely submerged in such delustering bath and changing the points of support of said loops during the delustering treatment, whereby a delustered knit fabric free of distortions is obtained.

8. The method of delustering knit fabric containing yarns of cellulose acetate comprising hanging loosely in loops such fabric vertically in a delustering bath comprising a hot aqueous solution in such a manner'that the loops are completely submerged in such delustering bath and changing the points of support of said loops during the delustering treatment, whereby a delustered knit fabric free of distortions is obtained.

HERBERT PLATT. 

